How Poetry Shaped Nationalism in Georgia and Ireland
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Young and Drunk: How Poetry Shaped Nationalism in Georgia and Ireland Author: Nina Nadirashvili Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108696 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, May 2019 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. YOUNG AND DRUNK: HOW POETRY SHAPED NATIONALISM IN GEORGIA AND IRELAND by Ninutsa Nadirashvili Submitted in partial fulfillment of graduation requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts Boston College International Studies Program May 2019 Advisor: Prof. Paul Christensen Advisor: Prof. Marjorie Howes Signature: Signature: IS Thesis Coordinator: Prof. Hiroshi Nakazato Signature: © Ninutsa Nadirashvili 2019 Abstract Contemporary public perceptions of nationalism see the concept as a toxic ideology of isolationist politicians. In contrast, through an analysis of work produced by public servants whose identities are tied more closely with those of artists than politicians, this thesis shifts focus to nationalist sentiments built around inclusivity. Using poems of Ilia Chavchavadze and Thomas Davis, this text serves as a comparative overview of nation-building strategies within Georgia and Ireland. The importance of land, myths, heroic characters, motherly figures, and calls to self-sacrifice are present in poems of both nations, uniting them in the struggle against colonial oppression and offering a common formula for creating a national identity. To Kato. For when she wants to know. Acknowledgements Multitudes of gratitude are due to Prof. Marjorie Howes and Prof. Paul Christensen. Only through your collaborative efforts could this thesis have come together. I would also like to thank Prof. Nakazato for his general guidance, Prof. Tsira Kilanava of Ilia State University for helping me fully grasp the Georgian side of things, and my loved ones for their support and encouragement. i ii TABLE OF CONTENTS: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . i TABLE OF CONTENTS . iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 6 2.1 MAJOR THEORIES 6 2.2 LANGUAGE AND NATIONALISM 9 2.3 COLONIAL REALITIES 14 2.4 ON IRELAND AND GEORGIA 16 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN . 23 CHAPTER 4: HISTORICAL CONTEXT . 25 4.1 GEORGIA BFORE ILIA 25 4.2 ILIA’S GEORGIA 29 4.3 THE GEORGIAN POET 33 4.4 IRELAND BEFRE DAVIS 35 4.5 DAVIS’S IRELAND 39 4.6 THE IRISH POET 40 CHAPTER 5: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION . 45 4.1 DIFFERENCES 45 4.2 SIMILARITIES 50 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION . 66 REFERENCES . 68 iii iv Introduction In 2015, National Geographic published an article written by Paul Salopek, a man who, while journeying on a multi-year, 21,000-mile walk across the world, had come to take a rest in a small Georgian village. Chargali, nestled into the Caucasus mountains, gifted him a temporary home and an interesting story. Salopek named his journal entry “Republic of Verse” and the subtitle read “In Georgia, poets – not politicians – are national heroes.”1 This is true, but perhaps it is not a naturally created reality. Across the world, colonized populations have turned to literature as a means of rebellion and educators have turned to poetry as a channel for awakening the national consciousness.2 Georgians are no exception. Ravaged by conquest due to their country’s advantageous positioning on the border of Europe and Asia, Georgians have had little chance to enter politics. Instead, whether it was due to censorship or disenfranchisement, national leaders emerged through poetry, a piece of art — the power of which lies in its dual ability to express political thought in both subtle and revolutionary ways. Inspired by my own Georgian nationality, this thesis is an account of the country’s identity-formation. In order to create a thorough but contained analysis of how Georgian nationality came to existence, the following research focuses on Ilia Chavchavadze, Georgia's leading public figure and poet during the nineteenth century – a period of nationalist thought prevailing across Europe. While the majority of European countries took to the task of unifying their own people, Ilia was charged with cultivating a nationalist sentiment under an 1 Paul Salopek, “Republic of Verse,” National Geographic. September 4, 2015, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/articles/2015-09-republic-of-verse/. 2 For examples of these cases, the reader can turn to “Nationalist Poetry, Conflict, and Meta linguistic Discourse” by Yasir Suleiman, “Ormo Nationalist Poetry” by Gunther Schlee, “A Soviet Patriot and Yiddish Nationalist” by Grank Gruener, “Nationalist Poets and Barbarian Poetry” by Jonathan Skinner, and many others. 1 additional strain of Russian occupation. Though it may have been a daunting challenge, a similar feat had been attempted across the continent. Ireland, having suffered under English oppression for centuries, had given birth to Thomas Davis, who – in turn – gave Ireland a national identity. Presently, research done on Ireland's anti-colonial nationalism abounds in academia, with a significant portion dedicated to Davis’s work.3 In order to highlight the universal aspects of literature expressing this type of nationalist thought, the following thesis offers a comparative analysis between poems published by Ilia and Davis and the methods they employed to formulate a common identity among Georgians and the Irish, respectively. As a land of bards, Ireland had a relationship with its poets not unlike that of Georgia’s. Folklore accounts view poetry as a gift from God, “a gift which all the learning in the world could not give to a person, a gift which lack of learning could not deprive a person of.”4 Though it may be surprising, Ilia, himself, was well aware of a connection between the two countries. His knowledge of the Irish issue was extensive and he wrote of it on several occasions in his newspaper – “Iveria.” In 1872, he translated a Thomas Moore5 poem, publishing it along with his own nationalist poetry in several of the Georgian journals.6 In 1886, he wrote articles addressing the plights of the Irish. Ilia educated the Georgian populace about important figures in Irish politics such as Parnell and Gladstone, spoke at length about Irish harvest failures and poverty, and even extensively documented the history 3 Some of the examples include “Defining Irish Nationalist Anti-Imperialism” by Niamh Lynch, “Rethinking Irish History” by Thomas William Heyck, “Thomas Davis, “The Nation” and the Irish Language” by Jean- Christophe Penet, and “A Nation Once Again” by Guilio Giorello. 4 Dáithi Ó Hógáin, “The Visionary Voice: A Survey of Popular Attitudes to Poetry in Irish Tradition,” Irish University Review 9, no. 1 (1979): 45. 5 An Irish poet, singer, and songwriter. 6 Maia Ninidze and George Rukhadze, Ilia Chavchavade: Detailed Chronology of Life and Works - New Textual-Critical Investigations (Tbilisi: Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature, 2017), 71. 2 and conquest of Ireland through collections of essays. Understanding the link between these two colonized nations, his work also paid particular attention to “Rebellions in Ireland” and “Ireland’s Right to Self-Governance and its Opponents.”7 Two of his articles on Ireland are widely cited by scholars of Ilia’s work when they discuss his brand of nationalism. In “Ireland and England,” his compassion and understanding of the Irish colonial predicament are displayed in the descriptions he uses for the Celts: “unfortunate,” “strangled,” and “miserable.” For Ilia, Irishmen are victims of “an evil act” and carriers of colonial “trauma.”8 And though he does not mention literary figures, Ilia highlights the work done by Daniel O’Connell – the Irish politician who scouted Thomas Davis and put him in charge of creating a nationalist sentiment. In his other work – “The Anglo-Irish Relations” – Ilia produces an interesting piece of writing. He analyzes English policies concerning Ireland and writes of two major movements: those that are striving towards a political solution and those that are arguing for change through force. Ilia sees the more peaceful movements – such as that of Gladstone – slowly failing. Although he argues that “The major ideology within Gladstone’s proposals, whether it be today or tomorrow, will ultimately be victorious because at the head of these, as we have often said, sit truth and love of mankind.” He continues, “These two cornerstones of man’s peaceful existence and happiness cannot be defeated, cannot be overshadowed, and sooner or later will find a way and will hold their rightful place within every society.”9 Ilia speaks further about the growing call for violence within the Fenians10 7 Maia Ninidze and George Rukhadze, 218-236. 8 Ilia Chavchadze, “Ireland and England” [in Georgian], Iveria (Tbilisi), 1886. 9 Ilia Chavchadze, “Anglo-Irish Relations” [in Georgian], Iveria, (Tbilisi), 1886, 4. 10 A collection of organizations dedicated to Ireland’s independence in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 3 and the Irish Americans, and fears that this can lead to England justifying brute force against the Irish. Though he also highlights his understanding of how this tactic of the revolutionaries can be used to apply significant pressure to England.11 It must have been clear to Ilia’s readers – after the publication of such a large volume of articles on the Irish – that there was a connection between the colonial realities of Georgia and Ireland. Today, Ireland continues to be an example of anti-colonial struggle, but little has been written about Georgians, their perseverance against the Russian Empire, and their guide in the fight – Ilia Chavchavadze. This nation of less than five million has kept her language, traditions, churches, and history; but while the rest of the world remains ignorant of her struggle for existence, Georgia has herself started to forget about the true nature of her nationalism. This is a nationalism of the colonized. It is a nationalism of Davis and Ilia, one that strives for inclusion, one that has a history of struggle as a bigger unifier than any ethnicity, religion, or race.